Milling devices of the generic type are typically used in road and path construction. For example, road milling devices are specifically used for milling off an existing road surface in need of renewal, recyclers and stabilizers are used for crushing and/or mixing the soil material, for example, with binders. Such milling devices can be implemented as self-propelled machines or also as trailer elements, for example, for attachment to a tractor. The implement of such milling devices is a milling rotor, which is typically a hollow-cylindrical body, which is equipped on its outer side with milling tools as, for example, chisels. In working operation, the milling rotor, which has been lowered into the soil, rotates and mills off soil material, for example. For this purpose, the milling rotor is typically arranged on the milling device lying transversely to the travel direction of the milling device and rotates in or opposite to the working direction, depending on the mode of operation. The milling rotor is typically enclosed by the rotor housing, in order to be able to mix the milled material with a binder and/or prevent milled material from being thrown around and/or to allow a controlled material transport out of the milling area. The rotor housing is therefore an apparatus which encloses the milling rotor on top, to the sides, in the working direction and opposite thereto. The rotor housing is implemented as open toward the ground so that the milling rotor can come into engagement with the soil to be processed.
In working operation, adhesion of soil material and/or contaminants on the inner side of the rotor hood frequently occurs. This occurs, in particular, if the rotor hood additionally has a spraying device via which water and/or binder, for example, bitumen foam, are introduced into the interior of the rotor housing for mixing with the soil material. These contaminants and/or soil materials, which are also designated in general hereafter as adhesions, particularly frequently have the result that the nozzles of the spraying device clog, and reliable fluid and/or bitumen supply is no longer ensured. In addition, the mixing results can also be significantly influenced thereby.
Previously, it was typical to interrupt the milling work to clean the rotor housing and, for example, to remove the rotor from the rotor housing or to take down the rotor housing, which is implemented as a rotor hood, for example, in order to gain access to the interior of the rotor housing. The contaminants in the rotor space were then removed with the aid of cutters, pneumatic hammers, shovels, etc. Afterwards, the milling rotor was reintroduced into the rotor housing or the rotor hood was attached, respectively, and the milling work could be continued. This cleaning method is cumbersome and time-consuming and results in a comparatively long shutdown of the milling device.
Especially for embodiments of a milling device having a spraying device, providing a plunger arrangement in each nozzle for cleaning purposes of the spray nozzles is also known, as is specified, for example, in DE 102 41 067 B3. However, this solution only achieves sufficient cleaning results in the case of slight adhesions and is nearly ineffective in the case of extreme contamination. In addition, this arrangement is comparatively complicated and costly to produce and maintain, as a separate plunger arrangement is required for each nozzle, and it is also targeted solely to the cleaning of the nozzle opening per se.